Enduring Trials By Faith

Introduction

We have already witnessed Abrahams faith as evidenced in his willingness to obey God when he was called out from his homeland to sojourn in the land of promise.

Now we shall see a further evidence of the faith of Abraham as God instructs him to offer up Isaac, his only son, the heir of the promises that God had made to him.

Imagine what faith it must have taken for Abraham to do as God had said and lay his only begotten son upon the altar of sacrifice supposing that he would take his life.

We learn that this instruction from God was intended as a test of Abraham’s faith which Abraham unquestionably passed.

As we walk with God in this life of faith there will be times when our faith is tested and tried and the only hope we have of enduring these trials is to trust God and allow Him to strengthen our faith.

It has often been stated that “a faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted”, and this is most certainly the case.

From the pattern of faithful Abraham we can see:

The Promise of Trials

The question of the trial of our faith is not a question of “if” our faith shall be tried but rather “when” shall our faith be tried.

When we speak of the trial of our faith we are speaking of God’s testing or proving of our faith.

Lab trials for Micro-V belts- these belts could not be trusted for use in the field until they had been thoroughly tested and proven adequate for the task they were designed to perform.

If we desire to be used greatly by God we must expect that we shall be tested to prove our worthiness for service.

I Peter 1:7- more precious than gold/ I Peter 4:12- think it not strange/ James 1:2- trying of your faith worketh patience

If we are going to live by faith, naturally our faith will be tried. We must remember that though God will try our faith, He will not tempt/try us beyond what we are able to bear. I Corinthians 10:13- God is not trying to break you only to prove you.

Every great servant of God has endured the trial of their faith, often on multiple occasions.

If you and I have determined to live by faith we can expect that our faith will often be tested and tried.

Trials are an unavoidable reality in the Christian life, let us never believe that to follow Christ is to be free from trials.

We learn from the many examples of those who endured trials that they are not without purpose. We should be thankful for:

The Purpose of Trials

Those who endure trials by faith will be forever changed by their experience. It has often been said that “trials will either make you bitter or they will make you better” depending upon your response to them.

We must learn to have faith in God even in the midst of the most severe trials that we experience, remembering that God is sovereignly in control and has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Hebrews 13:5

What then is the purpose of trials in our lives? It is often by the trial of our faith that we experience spiritual growth in a number of ways.

God has designed trials for:

The Exposition of the true nature of our faith

It is one thing to proclaim that we are men and women of great faith in God, but it is another thing entirely for that faith to be proven out in experience.

No one would have questioned that Abraham was a man of faith, but when his faith was truly put to the test, its true nature would be revealed.

Abraham professed to believe that God would fulfill the promises He had made to him, but the true nature of his faith in God was revealed when it seemed that God would take away the very child through whom the promise was to be fulfilled.

The world may hear you profess your faith in Christ but the true nature of your faith will be revealed in the midst of the trials that you face.

What will be your response when it seems that all hope is lost and God has failed you? Will you trust him still? What is the true nature of your faith in God?

Belt trials- the weak points were revealed and those belts that withstood the test were judged ready to be used in the field.

The true nature of our faith in God becomes evident when trials and difficulties press upon us. We may think ourselves to be great Christians, but it is in the midst of adversity, that our own weakness and insufficiency shall come to light.

We need look no further than our response to the current circumstances in our world. Our response to these circumstances provide strong evidence of the true nature of our faith.

There are those who have continued to trust God and to seek His face during this pandemic and all of the turmoil surrounding it, while others have been gripped by fear and have grown cold and distant from God in the midst of this crisis.

It is often only in the midst of severe trials that we find out the true nature of our faith. The question is often asked “Would I be willing to give my life for Christ as those who have gone before us?” It is likely that many who have given their lives asked this same question but only under the threat of death would they find the answer.

Yet we can be certain that a faith that does not even carry us to the house of God faithfully because it is often inconvenient to attend or that does not motivate us to share the gospel regularly for fear of being mocked or ridiculed, will not stand the test of real adversity.

The Expansion of our Dependence upon God

It is often in the midst of trials that we learn how utterly helpless we are without God. When trials come we are often forced to rely upon God, once every other option has been removed.

It is God’s desire that we would learn to depend upon Him rather than depending upon our own talents and abilities to accomplish His work.

John 15:5- without me ye can do nothing. It is through trials that we begin to recognize the truth of this statement from our Lord.

Abraham had depended upon God to give he and Sarah a child who would be the heir of the promises of God, but perhaps after God gave him Isaac his faith became fixed upon Isaac rather than upon God.

God instructed Abraham to offer up Isaac to cause Abraham to again depend upon God for the fulfilment of the promise.

Abraham was forced to depend once again upon God, accounting that if God did allow him to follow through with the sacrifice of Isaac, He “was able to raise him up, even from the dead.”

God wants to bring us to the point of absolute dependence upon Him. It is through trials that He teaches us that we can rely upon Him no matter the circumstance.

The Enhancement of our relationship with God

God’s ultimate purpose for trials is to draw us closer and to deepen our relationship with Him.

God desires to have first place in our lives such that no other relationship stands in competition with our relationship to Him.

Luke 14:26- hate father or mother- contrasted with our relationship with the Lord.

The problem is that we so often allow other relationships to supersede our relationship with Christ. This is one reason that God will allow us to go through trials.

For Abraham it is understandable that his relationship with Isaac would be a very special relationship because he as to be the heir of the promises of God.

We can speculate that Abraham’s relationship with Isaac may have begun to interfere with his relationship with God. This was not healthy for Abraham or for Isaac, for our relationship with God must always come first.

God asked Abraham to offer up Isaac so that Abraham’s relationship with God and his relationship with Isaac could be made right.

God will often bring trials into our lives to show us the unhealthy affections that exist in our lives for things or people. These affections become unhealthy the moment they begin to draw us away from our relationship to Christ.

God desires to have a deep personal relationship with each of us and He will sometimes use trials to show us that we have allowed other people or other things to rise to a position among our affections that should be reserved for God alone.

Trials are a reality that every believer must be prepared to face. You and I can endure trials just as Abraham did through our faith in the God who allows the trials to come.

Enduring trials is much less difficult when our faith is fixed firmly in God and when we recognize that the trials are not without purpose or plan and are actually for our benefit.

God wants a relationship with you today but that is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. Without Christ, you will face the trials of life alone, but by faith you will find a companion who walks with you, and who strengthens and comforts you in every trial you face.

Conclusion

Each of us will face the trial of our faith. We must respond to trials by faith if we are to experience the blessing that comes from a faith that has been proven in the fires of adversity.

God will use trials to grow and strengthen our faith in Him and to draw us closer to Him.

What Abraham was asked to do, God himself would do many years later in sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins. John 3:16- God proved his love for you and for me by his willingness to send His only begotten son to die in our place.